Icemen Pluck Eagles, Improve to 10-1-1

The Boston College men's hockey team knew it was outclassed when it stepped onto the ice at the Bright Hockey Center yesterday. Up against the third-ranked team in the nation and a combination of speed and skill it could not hope to match, the Eagles resorted to the only weapon they had left.

They got ugly. And Harvard responded.

The result was an amazing 25 penalties--13 on the Crimson and 12 on the Eagles--but Harvard (10-1-1 overall, 10-0-1 ECHOIC) scored twice on power plays in the second period and prevailed over BC (4-9-3 overall), 5-2.

"It was tough to get into a rhythm with all the penalties," Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni said. "But it's a big rivalry, and emotions just run higher."

If the BC power play unit had been even the least bit efficient, the game might have turned out differently. But Harvard, buoyed by the return of sophomore forward Steve Martins and keyed by the outstanding play of freshman goalie Tripp Tracy (22 saves), killed all 12 of the Eagles' opportunities.

On the other end, BC held Harvard to just two goals on 13 power plays--far below the Crimson's normal 28.8 percent conversion rate.

One of those goals, however, was the eventual game winner: a tip-in by freshman forward Tom Holmes following a junior Brian Farrell slap shot from the point. Holmes scored his first two collegiate goals in the win. Captain Ted Drury had two assists and a goal.

"We played hard, but we didn't play our best," Tomassoni said. "This team has yet to play its best."

Harvard didn't have to play its best last night, though, courtesy of BC goalie Josh Singewald. The sophomore made several great one-on-one saves but also misplayed several shots that Tracy could have stopped in his sleep.

Singewald's troubles started with 5:03 gone in the first period, when

Holmes took a centering pass from Drury andshot the puck off the heel of his stick from aboutfive yards out. The puck dribbled toward the net,but Singewald saw it too late to prevent the slowroller from scoring.

BC answered the tally two minutes later whenjunior forward Jack Callahan rifled an untouchableshot past Tracy into the upper-right hand cornerof the net.

But Harvard reeled off three straightsecond-period goals--by junior Brian Farrell,Holmes and Drury to secure the victory.

With the game decided, what was already aphysical game became a free-for-all: six roughingpenalties were called in the final 12 minutes.Junior Sean McCann was sent to the boxtwice in the third period: once forcross-checking and once for roughing.

But the roughest play of the game belonged tofreshman Jason Karmanos: with 3:30 left to play,Eagle junior John Joyce pinned Karmanos to theboards. Karmanos retaliated bykneeling--repeatedly--on Joyce's back and grindinghis head into the ice. Joyce got up andsucker-punched Karmanos in the back, all of whichnetted two-minute penalties for each combatant.

HARVARD, 5-2 at Bright Hockey CenterBC  1  1  0  --  2Harvard  1  3  1--  5

G: BC--Callahan, Krayer; Harvard--Holmes(2), Farrell, Drury, Mallgrave. A:BC--Joyce, Moran, Buckley; Harvard--Drury (2),Breistroff, Body, Flomenhoft, Lonsinger, Farrell,Baird. Svs: BC--Singewald (30);Harvard--Tracy (22).CrimsonG. Bart KasowskiJunior BRIAN FARRELL eyes BC sophomore MIKEMcCARTHY in yesterday's action at Bright.

Holmes took a centering pass from Drury andshot the puck off the heel of his stick from aboutfive yards out. The puck dribbled toward the net,but Singewald saw it too late to prevent the slowroller from scoring.

BC answered the tally two minutes later whenjunior forward Jack Callahan rifled an untouchableshot past Tracy into the upper-right hand cornerof the net.

But Harvard reeled off three straightsecond-period goals--by junior Brian Farrell,Holmes and Drury to secure the victory.

With the game decided, what was already aphysical game became a free-for-all: six roughingpenalties were called in the final 12 minutes.Junior Sean McCann was sent to the boxtwice in the third period: once forcross-checking and once for roughing.

But the roughest play of the game belonged tofreshman Jason Karmanos: with 3:30 left to play,Eagle junior John Joyce pinned Karmanos to theboards. Karmanos retaliated bykneeling--repeatedly--on Joyce's back and grindinghis head into the ice. Joyce got up andsucker-punched Karmanos in the back, all of whichnetted two-minute penalties for each combatant.

HARVARD, 5-2 at Bright Hockey CenterBC  1  1  0  --  2Harvard  1  3  1--  5

G: BC--Callahan, Krayer; Harvard--Holmes(2), Farrell, Drury, Mallgrave. A:BC--Joyce, Moran, Buckley; Harvard--Drury (2),Breistroff, Body, Flomenhoft, Lonsinger, Farrell,Baird. Svs: BC--Singewald (30);Harvard--Tracy (22).CrimsonG. Bart KasowskiJunior BRIAN FARRELL eyes BC sophomore MIKEMcCARTHY in yesterday's action at Bright.